Patent Application
20200032449
The present subject matter relates generally to dryer appliances, and more particularly to systems and methods for sending progress updates and receiving operating commands from a remote device.
Dryer appliances generally include a cabinet with a drum rotatably mounted therein. During operation, a motor rotates the drum, e.g., to tumble articles located within a chamber defined by the drum. Dryer appliances also generally include a heater assembly that passes heated air through the chamber in order to dry moisture-laden articles positioned therein. Typically, an air handler or blower is used to urge the flow of heated air from chamber, through a trap duct, and to the exhaust duct where it is exhausted from the dryer appliance.
Conventional dryer appliances monitor chamber humidity and/or the remaining moisture content of the clothes to determine when a drying cycle should end. For example, dryer appliances may use two stainless steel sensor rods positioned within the chamber to detect the moisture content of a laundry load, e.g., by measuring the resistance between the sensor rods or the conduction of electric current through the clothes contacting the rods. Alternatively, dryer appliances may include chamber temperature and/or humidity sensors for monitoring chamber conditions and algorithms for estimating the remaining moisture content of clothes within the chamber.
Certain dryer appliances include displays that provide users with useful information or enable control of the dryer appliance. For example, a display may be attached to a front panel of a dryer appliance and be operatively coupled with the appliance controller to allow the user to monitor the progress of a drying cycle. In addition, the front panel may include one or more user input devices to permit a user to adjust operating parameters, such as remaining dry time. However, dryer appliances typically have only three or four dryness level options and cycle feedback is typically limited to the remaining cycle time.
Accordingly, a dryer appliance and associated methods of operation that improve visibility and control of a drying cycle would be desirable. More specifically, a dryer appliance that can communicate detailed status information and receive operating commands from a user not near the dryer appliance would be particularly beneficial.
Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of operating a dryer appliance is provided. The method includes initiating a drying cycle, communicating a progress update of the drying cycle to a remote device, and receiving a command from the remote device to adjust at least one operating parameter of the dryer appliance. The method further includes adjusting the at least one operating parameter in response to receiving the command from the remote device.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a dryer appliance is provided. The dryer appliance includes a cabinet, a drum rotatably mounted within the cabinet, the drum defining a chamber for receipt of clothes for drying, and a humidity sensor for measuring a chamber humidity. A controller includes a communication module in operative communication with a remote device. The controller is configured for initiating a drying cycle, communicating a progress update of the drying cycle to a remote device, and receiving a command from the remote device to adjust at least one operating parameter of the dryer appliance. The controller is further configured for adjusting the at least one operating parameter in response to receiving the command from the remote device.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present invention.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Dryer appliance 10 defines a vertical direction V, a lateral direction L, and a transverse direction T. The vertical direction V, lateral direction L, and transverse direction T are mutually perpendicular and form an orthogonal direction system. Cabinet 12 includes a front panel 14, a rear panel 16, a pair of side panels 18 and 20 spaced apart from each other by front and rear panels 14 and 16, a bottom panel 22, and a top cover 24. Within cabinet 12 is a container or drum 26 which defines a chamber 28 for receipt of articles, e.g., clothing, linen, etc., for drying. Drum 26 extends between a front portion and a back portion, e.g., along the transverse direction T. In example embodiments, drum 26 is rotatable, e.g., about an axis that is parallel to the transverse direction T, within cabinet 12. A door 30 is rotatably mounted to cabinet 12 for providing selective access to drum 26.
An air handler 32, such as a blower or fan, may be provided to motivate an airflow (not shown) through an entrance air passage 34 and an air exhaust passage 36. Specifically, air handler 32 may include a motor 38 which may be in mechanical communication with a blower fan 40, such that motor 38 rotates blower fan 40. Air handler 32 is configured for drawing air through chamber 28 of drum 26, e.g., in order to dry articles located therein, as discussed in greater detail below. In alternative example embodiments, dryer appliance 10 may include an additional motor (not shown) for rotating fan 40 of air handler 32 independently of drum 26.
Drum 26 may be configured to receive heated air that has been heated by a heating assembly 50, e.g., in order to dry damp articles disposed within chamber 28 of drum 26. Heating assembly 50 includes a heater 52 that is in thermal communication with chamber 28. For instance, heater 52 may include one or more electrical resistance heating elements or gas burners, for heating air being flowed to chamber 28. As discussed above, during operation of dryer appliance 10, motor 38 rotates fan 40 of air handler 32 such that air handler 32 draws air through chamber 28 of drum 26. In particular, ambient air enters air entrance passage 36 defined by heating assembly 50 via an entrance 54 due to air handler 32 urging such ambient air into entrance 54. Such ambient air is heated within heating assembly 50 and exits heating assembly 50 as heated air. Air handler 32 draws such heated air through an air entrance passage 34, including inlet duct 56, to drum 26. The heated air enters drum 26 through an outlet 58 of duct 56 positioned at a rear wall of drum 26.
Within chamber 28, the heated air can remove moisture, e.g., from damp articles disposed within chamber 28. This internal air flows in turn from chamber 28 through an outlet assembly positioned within cabinet 12. The outlet assembly generally defines an air exhaust passage 36 and includes a trap duct 60, air handler 32, and an exhaust conduit 62. Exhaust conduit 62 is in fluid communication with trap duct 60 via air handler 32. More specifically, exhaust conduit 62 extends between an exhaust inlet 64 and an exhaust outlet 66. According to the illustrated embodiment, exhaust inlet 64 is positioned downstream of and fluidly coupled to air handler 32, and exhaust outlet 66 is defined in rear panel 16 of cabinet 12. During a drying cycle, internal air flows from chamber 28 through trap duct 60 to air handler 32, e.g., as an outlet flow portion of airflow. As shown, air further flows through air handler 32 and to exhaust conduit 62.
The internal air is exhausted from dryer appliance 10 via exhaust conduit 62. In some embodiments, an external duct (not shown) is provided in fluid communication with exhaust conduit 62. For instance, the external duct may be attached (e.g., directly or indirectly attached) to cabinet 12 at rear panel 16. Any suitable connector (e.g., collar, clamp, etc.) may join the external duct to exhaust conduit 62. In residential environments, the external duct may be in fluid communication with an outdoor environment (e.g., outside of a home or building in which dryer appliance 10 is installed). During a drying cycle, internal air may thus flow from exhaust conduit 62 and through the external duct before being exhausted to the outdoor environment.
In exemplary embodiments, trap duct 60 may include a filter portion 68 which includes a screen filter or other suitable device for removing lint and other particulates as internal air is drawn out of chamber 28. The internal air is drawn through filter portion 68 by air handler 32 before being passed through exhaust conduit 62. After the clothing articles have been dried (or a drying cycle is otherwise completed), the clothing articles are removed from drum 26, e.g., by accessing chamber 28 by opening door 30. The filter portion 68 may further be removable such that a user may collect and dispose of collected lint between drying cycles.
In some embodiments, dryer appliance 10 also includes one or more sensors that may be used to facilitate improved operation of dryer appliance 10, such as described below. For example, dryer appliance 10 may include one or more temperature sensors 70 which are generally operable to measure internal temperatures in dryer appliance 10 and/or one or more airflow sensors (not shown) which are generally operable to detect the velocity of air (e.g., as an air flow rate in meters per second, or as a volumetric velocity in cubic meters per second) as it flows through the appliance 10. In some embodiments, an appliance controller (e.g., controller 84 described below) is configured to vary operation of heating assembly 50 based on one or more temperatures detected by the temperature sensors 70 or air flow measurements from the airflow sensors.
Referring still to
Referring again to
The memory device(s) 84C can include one or more computer-readable media and can store information accessible by the one or more processor(s) 84B, including instructions 84D that can be executed by the one or more processor(s) 84B. For instance, the memory device(s) 84C can store instructions 84D for running one or more software applications, displaying a user interface, receiving user input, processing user input, etc. In some implementations, the instructions 84D can be executed by the one or more processor(s) 84B to cause the one or more processor(s) 84B to perform operations, e.g., such as one or more portions of methods described herein. The instructions 84D can be software written in any suitable programming language or can be implemented in hardware. Additionally, and/or alternatively, the instructions 84D can be executed in logically and/or virtually separate threads on processor(s) 84B.
The one or more memory device(s) 84C can also store data 84E that can be retrieved, manipulated, created, or stored by the one or more processor(s) 84B. The data 84E can include, for instance, data to facilitate performance of methods described herein. The data 84E can be stored in one or more database(s). The one or more database(s) can be connected to controller 84 by a high bandwidth LAN or WAN, or can also be connected to controller through network(s) (not shown). The one or more database(s) can be split up so that they are located in multiple locales. In some implementations, the data 84E can be received from another device.
The computing device(s) 84A can also include a communication module or interface 84F used to communicate with one or more other component(s) of controller 84 or dryer appliance 10 over the network(s). The communication interface 84F can include any suitable components for interfacing with one or more network(s), including for example, transmitters, receivers, ports, controllers, antennas, or other suitable components.
As illustrated and described in
System 100 is described below according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter. However, it should be appreciated that the exemplary functions and configurations of system 100 provided herein are used only as examples to facilitate description of aspects of the present subject matter. System configurations may vary, other remote devices may be used to communicate with other appliances, other communication protocols and steps may be implemented, etc. These variations and modifications are contemplated as within the scope of the present subject matter.
In general, network 104 can be any type of communication network. For example, network 104 can include one or more of a wireless network, a wired network, a personal area network, a local area network, a wide area network, the internet, etc. According to an exemplary embodiment, remote device 102 may communicate with a remote server 106 over network 104, such as the internet, to receive appliance status updates and send commands to the appliance, as described below. Remote server 106 may generally operate to store, receive, and transmit signals associated with dryer appliance 10, and may thus be in communication with dryer appliance 10 through controller 84. To achieve such communication, for example, remote server 106 may include its own controller similar to that illustrated in
Remote server 106 is remote, and thus external to dryer appliance 10 which is typically located at a single location, e.g., a consumer's residence. Remote server 106 may, for example, be in another room of a house or building in which the dryer appliance 10 is utilized, or in a neighboring building, etc. Alternatively, and in exemplary embodiments, the remote server 106 is a cloud-based server 106, and is thus located at a distant location, such as in a separate state, country, etc. In general, communication between the remote server 106 and the client devices may be carried via a network interface using any type of wireless connection, using a variety of communication protocols (e.g. TCP/IP, HTTP, SMTP, FTP), encodings or formats (e.g. HTML, XML), and/or protection schemes (e.g. VPN, secure HTTP, SSL). Accordingly, operating cycle and status information may be transmitted from controller 84 to the remote server 106 and remote device 102 using the network 106.
Remote device 102 may be any suitable device for communicating information and receiving input from a user. According to the illustrated embodiment, remote device 102 includes, for example, a display, one or more input buttons, a touch screen interface, etc. Specifically, according to an exemplary embodiment, remote device 102 may be a personal phone, a tablet, a personal computer, etc. Remote device 102 further includes a controller (similar to controller 84) for controlling operation of remote device 102 and for communicating with appliance controller 84 and/or remote server 106, as described herein.
According to an exemplary embodiment, dryer appliance 100 may be configured for receiving remote device 102, e.g., to provide a charging or data communication functions. According to such exemplary embodiments, dryer appliance 10 may include a mounting assembly 120. Mounting assembly 120 may include a mounting frame 122 that is attached to backsplash 80. Frame 122 may be seated in backsplash 80 such that remote device 102 may be placed within frame 122 and can sit flush with backsplash 80. Frame 122 may further define one or more securing tabs 124. Securing tabs 124 are protrusions or clips configured to secure remote device 102 when it is placed in mounting assembly 120. Although securing tabs 124 are described as securing remote device 102 in frame 102, one skilled in the art will appreciate that other means of detachably securing remote device 102 within frame 102 are possible and within the scope of the present subject matter. Mounting assembly 120 may further include features for charging or establishing wired communication with remote device 102.
Now that the construction and configuration of dryer appliance 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter has been presented, an exemplary method 200 for operating a dryer appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter is provided. Method 200 can be used with dryer appliance 10, or any other suitable dryer appliance. In this regard, for example, controller 84 may be configured for implementing method 200. However, it should be appreciated that the exemplary method 200 is discussed herein only to describe exemplary aspects of the present subject matter, and is not intended to be limiting.
As shown in
For example, controller 84 may use humidity measurements from humidity sensor 72 (along with other sensors) and may implement an algorithm to determine a moisture content within chamber 28. As used herein, “moisture content” is intended to refer to an estimated amount of water within clothes in chamber 28 of dryer appliance 10. In general, moisture content may represent the humidity within a volume of clothes, and may be referred to as the “remaining moisture content” (RMC) to refer to the amount of liquid remaining within clothes during a drying cycle. The term “final moisture content” (FMC) may be used herein to refer to a desired amount of moisture content or a moisture content threshold below which the clothes may be considered dry. For example, according to exemplary embodiments, the FMC may be less than 3% for dry clothes and less than 15% for moderately dry or slightly damp clothes. It should be appreciated that the present subject matter is not limited by the means of detecting the moisture content of clothes within dryer appliance 10.
Step 220 includes communicating a progress update of the drying cycle to a remote device. In this regard, continuing the example from above, the remote device may be remote device 102 (e.g., a personal phone, a tablet, a computer, etc.). Notably, the remote device may not be connected directly to dryer appliance 10. For example, as described above, remote device 102 may be connected to dryer appliance 10 using a local area network or through a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection. By contrast, according to alternative embodiments, remote device 102 may be connected to dryer appliance 10 through a remote server 106 as described above. In addition, remote device 102 may be removably mounted to dryer appliance 10, e.g., such as by a docking port or mounting assembly 120, as described above.
As used herein, “progress update” is used generally to refer to characteristics of dryer appliance 10 and/or the clothes located therein during a drying cycle. For example, the progress update may include the temperature and humidity within drum 26, moisture content within a load of clothes positioned within chamber 26, or any other suitable operating condition related to dryer appliance 10. As an example the progress update may include a progress bar that is displayed on remote device 102 for providing an indication of the moisture content of clothes within drum 26. The progress bar may be continuously updated to illustrate the percent of the drying cycle completed or the amount of moisture remaining within a load of clothes.
In addition or alternatively, progress update may include a notification to remote device 102 that the moisture content of the clothes has fallen below a predetermined level. For example, a user of dryer appliance 10 may set a desired dryness level (e.g., a final moisture content) at which dryer appliance 10 should cease operation and provide an indication that the drying cycle is completed to the user through remote device 102. The predetermined level may also be determined using any suitable algorithm and may be time-based or calculated using appliance sensors, e.g. such as temperature sensor 70 and/or humidity sensor 72.
Step 230 includes receiving a command from the remote device to adjust at least one operating parameter of the dryer appliance. As used herein, an “operating parameter” of dryer appliance 10 is any cycle setting, operating time, component setting, spin speed, part configuration, or other operating characteristic that may affect the performance of dryer appliance 10. Thus, references to operating parameter adjustments or “adjusting at least one operating parameter” are intended to refer to control actions intended to improve system performance in response to user inputs, chamber temperature measurements, chamber humidity measurements, estimated moisture content, etc. According to an exemplary embodiment, adjusting at least one operating parameter may include stopping the drying cycle of dryer appliance 10, setting a termination or remaining dry time, adjusting the operation of air handler 32 and/or heating assembly 50, etc.
Step 240 includes adjusting the at least one operating parameter in response to receiving the command from the remote device. In this regard, for example, dryer appliance 10 may perform a drying cycle, may communicate the progress of that cycle continuously to a user through a remote device, may receive a command from the user through the remote device, and implement that command all without the user having to touch or be near dryer appliance 10. After the operating parameter is adjusted, step 250 may include providing an estimated time remaining or other progress updates after making such an operating parameter adjustment.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
